Church in the World

Levada condemns ?secular fundamentalism?

Western societies are excluding religion from public life in a new form of secular fundamentalism, according to the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Cardinal William Levada. In a rare interview to be published this month in Belgium, in the Flemish-language Mondiaal Neuws, the 70-year-old American cardinal touches on a broad range of topics, including what he sees as the proper relationships between State and Church, the relationship between dogma and personal freedom, and the Church's uneasiness with both Marxism and neo-liberal capitalism.

And in what some might see as disarming candour, the CDF prefect acknowledges that "the Magisterium is usually far behind on the evolution of moral challenges", citing the atomic bomb as an example of this. When it comes to church teaching and personal freedom, the cardinal says the "living tradition" is "much larger than the simple and strict passing of existing answers, insights and convictions from one generation to another". But it is what the cardinal calls the emerging of a "fundamentalism of religious exclusion" that is chief among his concerns, commenting that in the United States this tendency is seen as an aspiration for a "naked ... public square, stripped [of] every religious reference and [of] every religious participation". In remarks that pointed to possible directions for future dialogue with Islam, the cardinal suggested that, particularly in Europe, Catholics and Muslims might find common ground in combating this tendency.

However, he insisted that, in a democracy, Churches and faith groups had obligations and circumscribed rights as well. Fundamentalist beliefs become problematic if adherents start to believe that God calls them to use violence against those who do not share their convictions. "A society has to formulate limits, whatever the religious convictions of believers or Churches," Cardinal Levada insisted.

Questioned on the individual believer's relationship with dogma, the cardinal argued that accepting church dogma was not the same as abdicating one's freedom to think or reason. Reason is one of the ultimate gifts, he said, while the Church offers "a living tradition that is much larger than the simple and strict passing of existing answers, insights and convictions from one generation to another. The mission of the Church is not to prohibit people from thinking, investigating different hypotheses or collecting knowledge; its mission is to give those processes orientation."

Ultimately, the cardinal said, there has to be some body that can decide whether a specific lifestyle is coherent with the principles of the faith, and in accordance with the commandment to love your neighbour.

He also condemned the economics of globalisation for its failure to prevent suffering: "You just cannot say that everything will be all right, when your theory in contemporary practice costs the lives of millions of human beings." And the prefect of the CDF admitted to possible shortcomings in weekly liturgies. "If we would give more attention to social issues during our liturgies," he said, "more people might show up because they would feel that these celebrations would concern their lives, would offer them something more."

A full report is available on the Mondiaal Neuws website: http://www.mo.be/index.%20php?id=61&tx_uwnews_pi2[art_id]=17590